A Stitch in Time: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Andrew Robinson’s intense understanding of his character shines through with every word, it’s remarkable. I had a great time reading and always felt like Garak himself was reading it to me, that skill with character is rare and should be acknowledged much more then this book has been. I almost never leave reviews, but this was so good I can’t help myself.

Actually, lets make it one of the best novels I have ever read. Now Granted, I am a huge star trek fan (which will help you understand this book). However, the beauty of the book is that you don't necessarily have to be a trek fan to read it. It is elegantly written in such a way that there are juicy tid-bits for the trek fans and a wonderful story for the non-trekkers. As mentioned before, the book covers themes such as love, betrayal, loyalty, honor, duty, obligation, shame, humiliation, and none of these are in the least bit cliche.I know that my review of this wonderful book comes a little over a full decade after it was published but hey, better late than to have never read this book. Mr. Robinson should of considered writing a career as well. I had a month off from the university and, as I mentioned, being a huge trek fan I found myself re-watching some of my favorite episodes of DS9 (most of them involving Garak) I couldn't help but wondering over to Wikipedia and doing some research on plain, simple, Garak. I was intrigued to have found a novel that was rumored to answer one of the main questions all Garak fans have in common: Why was he exiled? Well, suffice to say when I saw that this novel was supposed to answer that AND was written by Andrew J. Robinson himself, I had to buy it and read it over my vacation. I am well pleased that I choose this book to read over the break as I had only a short time to read a book, which I like to do for relaxation.**********************SPOILER ALERT*************This book was well worth the read. Being from a military family background myself, I couldn't help but relate somewhat to what Garak was experiencing through young adulthood, through Bamarren (intelligence/military style college), and finally his recruitment into the Obsidian Order. My favorite part was probably his training at Bamarren and his interactions with Paladine and his schoolmates. This was the most interesting as Andrew Robinson does a tremendous job of keeping track of people identified only by numerical designations and then, slowly, by their revealed names. Paladine is actually identified first and Pythas Lok (One of Garak's good friends) is the last.The missions during which he is involved in the Obsidian Order are nicely done.I felt like I was on the Cardassian/Federation frontier when Garak was interacting with the arrogant Hans Jordt. This goes for the infamous Romulus mission as well (throughout DS9 it is mentioned that Garak worked as a gardener on Romulus for awhile) and the Cardassia II mission which largely led to the incident for which he was exiled (but not entirely responsible).This book answers so many questions for fans that it is an invaluable piece of trek lore. The novel answers questions about Gul Dukat, Tain, Garak, as well as the coveted reason for his expulsion from Cardassia and a few things fans didnt know. Some things in the novel were only briefly mentioned in the series, but are answered in the book (the shuttle incident).I only have a couple complaints about the book. The first is the ending, What happened to Paladine? I know that it is often the journey that is important and not the destination, but still! That would of been icing on the cake if we had seen a happily ever after especially after such a long journey, but I know, cliche.The second complaint (which is in no way related to the book as much as amazon) was the price of the book. I paid a high price for a paper back and granted, the kindle version is $9.00, but is the paperback out of print or something?Anyway, this book was well worth the cost especially if a good portion went into the pocket of the author. Great book! I will have to re-read it one day (something I rarely do).Thank you so much for this wonderful book Andrew J. Robinson. The fans really appreciate it!Sincerely,a Garak and trek fan.

Andrew J. Robinson has written a really terrific book which is unlike any other Trek novel I have ever read: there is no central action or mission to accomplish, and there is very little humor. Instead, this is a psychological study of the character Robinson played on DS9, giving us his background - how he grew up, insights into the hierarchical structure of Cardassian society, glimpses of his work in the Obsidian Order, what got him exiled to a tailor's shop on a Bajoran station, and the reality of his return home and the third stage of his life attempting to rebuild his world. The book moves through time; it does drag in a few places, and it leaves me wanting more in others - I really wanted more of his mission on Romulus. The book is very subtle, so I had to reread sections because the significance of them escaped me on the first reading. It is very well written.I do have one complaint, however, and it is directed toward the Kindle edition of the book: the quality is terrible! "You will be given a period of time to prove whether you have anything of value to contribute to the This, of course, is contingent on ..." That's how it appears in the book. "I'd hesrd about this two days ago..." The Kindle version has dozens of sloppy typos and errors. Whoever did this did it way too fast and carelessly, and someone ought to go through more patiently and clean this garbage up. We are paying enough money for these books, we ought to get at least comparable quality to the print books. I have to deduct at least one star for all the errors - probably a more accurate rating would be 3.5 stars for the Kindle version.

I listened to the audio book on a long drive. The fact that it was read by the author, and the actor who also played Elam Garak, really enhanced it. I haven’t “read” any Star Trek novels in a long time, but, I am a big fan of DS9. This book really expands the whole character of Garak and the Cardassians. I was amazed at the depth and detail. Very well done!

This is by far the best DS9 novel I have read. Though others have abound with futuristic battles & technology, few engage in the revealing depth of character as this one. I admit Garek is one of my favourite characters on DS9 and always had unanswered questions about him during the series. This novel answers all of them, revealing an extraordinarily complex individual, an unsung hero, and a tragic reflection of his culture and species. So compelling was this alien's life story that I was sad when I came to the last page, thirsting for more.

It's a perfect complement to those who want to know more about Garak's life before he was exiled to DS9 and what comes after the Dominion war, between Garak coming back to help rebuilt an almost destroyed Cardassia Prime and him becoming Canciller. This book is not Garak justifying himself or his actions, just narrating important moments of his life that give you a clear view of Cardassian society and how exactly Garak lived the occupation of Bajor, his work in the Obsidian Order and as Tain's second in command and his place in the life as part of a militarized (non-democratic) society. Andrew J. Robinson went so far as to narrate the story in the way Cardassian memories would work (as Garak mentions Bashir). It's so entertaining to read, I'm usually a VERY slow reader; I finished this one in less than two days! Overall I absolutely loved it.

Sieben großartige Staffeln lang spielte der New Yorker Schauspieler Andrew J. Robinson in "Deep Space Nine" mit dem zwielichtigen "Schneider" Elim Garak einen der faszinierendsten Charaktere nicht nur dieser Serie, sondern unbestreitbar auch des gesamten Star Trek-Universums.Mit "A Stitch in Time" beweist Robinson, wie tief er sich in seine Figur eingearbeitet hat und präsentiert eine fiktive Autobiographie, die beständig zwischen drei Zeitebenen wechselt: Der Jugend und Ausbildung des jungen Elim Garak im Obsidianischen Orden, der Vorbereitung der Invasion von Cardassia Prime am Ende der siebten Staffel sowie der Phase des gesellschaftlichen und politischen Wiederaufbaus Cardassias nach der Kapitulation der Kräfte des Dominions im Alpha-Quadranten. Ein faszinierendes Werk, das tiefe Einblicke nicht nur in Garaks Charakter, sondern auch in die von Disziplin und Heimlichtuerei geprägte cardassianische Gesellschaft bietet und zahlreiche bekannte Figuren wie Enabran Tain, Gul Evek, Gul Dukat, Legat Damar, und Gul Madred ("Da sind vier Lichter!") aus DS9 und TNG wiederauferstehen lässt.Mit Abstand einer der besten Star Trek-Romane überhaupt.

Non l'ho ancora finito, per ora mi piace moltissimo

I realise I'm about 7 years late with this review, but after recently getting into the Relaunch series, this book is excellent, and a worthy follow up to DS9. Andrew Robinson surprised me with is skills as a writer here, and absolutely blew me away with his grasp of Cardassian culture, his own character, the Trek universe as a whole.It's easy to hear Garak's voice while you're reading, and he manages to get a reaction from the reader with his expressive writing. The way he has explained the back story behind some of the events in the show in a convincing way is quite impressive.Also, I liked the way he managed to have three timelines running concurrently (post-DS9, immediately prior to the final assault on Cardassia and his youth), and in such a way that you never felt completely confused.I did lose track of a couple of characters at various points - swapping between their school designations, first names, surnames or ranks... but it never got in the way of a good read.Highly recommended to any fan of Deep Space Nine, and in particular, any Garak fans.